As the debate over state Medicaid expansion continues, Governor Mike Pence is proposing market-based reforms to deliver quality coverage to the Medicaid-eligible population of Indiana. On Monday morning, delivering a speech at AEI, Pence outlined how this proposal can help those currently unable to afford health insurance. He explained his new Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0, a program that builds on a preexisting health plan in Indiana and is largely based on health savings accounts. Gov. Pence emphasized that states should have the flexibility to set up such programs to help close the health coverage gap.

He explained how the tiers of this plan would expand coverage for different groups and help individuals transition and later purchase insurance plans in the marketplace. He further detailed how this program allows consumers to make decisions about their health care coverage while reducing costs and incentivizing preventative care over excessive reliance on emergency care.

Keeping such decisions in the hands of consumers strengthens feelings of earned success for individuals, stressed Gov. Pence. He argued that providing the citizens of Indiana with consumer-driven health plans will empower participants to make quality-conscious and cost-effective health care decisions. –Jonathan Buchleiter

Event Description

Since taking office in January 2013, Indiana Governor Mike Pence has stressed the need for state-level innovation to address pressing national issues. In the area of Medicaid, Gov. Pence has promoted the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP), which has operated on a demonstration basis in Indiana for several years and uses a consumer-driven model featuring health savings accounts (HSAs).

After negotiating a one-year waiver for 40,000 HIP recipients, Gov. Pence has now developed plans to expand the program as an alternative to Medicaid. Please join us for a conversation with Gov. Pence as he discusses how he plans to use private market–based reforms, employer-based plans, and HSAs to transform health care in a fiscally responsible manner for the Medicaid-eligible population in Indiana.

If you are unable to attend, we welcome you to watch the event live on this page. Full video will be posted within 24 hours.

Agenda

10:45 AM Registration

11:00 AM Introduction:Arthur C. Brooks, AEI

11:05 AM Remarks:Mike Pence, Governor of Indiana

11:35 AM Question-and-Answer Session

11:45 Adjournment

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Arthur C. Brooks is the president of AEI and the Beth and Ravenel Curry Scholar in Free Enterprise. Until January 1, 2009, he was the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University. He is the author of 10 books and many articles on topics ranging from the economics of the arts to applied mathematics. His books include “The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise” (Basic Books, 2012), “Social Entrepreneurship” (Prentice Hall, 2008), and “Who Really Cares” (Basic Books, 2006). Before pursuing his work in public policy, Brooks spent 12 years as a professional French hornist with the City Orchestra of Barcelona and other ensembles.

Mike Pence is a lifelong Hoosier with legal, small-business, and policy experience. He was elected the 50th governor of Indiana in 2012. Since taking office in 2013, Pence has achieved the largest state tax cut in Indiana history while also lowering the business personal property tax and corporate income tax to strengthen the state’s competitive edge in attracting new investment and good-paying jobs. He has expanded school choice, signed into law the first state funding for pre-kindergarten education, and has made career and technical education a priority in every Indiana high school. Under his leadership, the state has invested more than $800 million in new money for roads and bridges in Indiana. Gov. Pence manages a state employee workforce of approximately 28,000 and a state budget of $30.6 billion. He oversees the duties of the executive branch as the state’s chief executive officer, recommends and reviews legislation with members of the Indiana General Assembly, and serves as the commander in chief of the Indiana National Guard. Before being elected governor, Pence represented Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District in Congress. First elected in 2000 and having been elected for a sixth term in 2010, Pence’s leadership and legislative accomplishments resulted in him being elected unanimously by his colleagues to serve as House Republican conference chairman and chairman of the House Republican Study Committee. A strong supporter of the military, Pence has made a priority of reducing veteran unemployment and, while in Congress, he visited Hoosier soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.